Purse Ephemera, and Ephemera in General

Today's Crafter's Devotional exercise involves dumping out one's purse(s) ephemera and using it as part of or inspiration for new work. Alternatively, one could dump out "other vessels or places that accumulate ephemera, such as suitcases, backpacks, glove compartments, and junk drawers."

Good Goddess of Inspiration! I can't tell you how much I fight, constantly and every day, against the accumulation of "ephemera." To me, this kind of stuff is just garbage and clutter. I've been through the phase where I couldn't throw anything out -- or, better yet, recycle it -- because it might be useful one day. I'm so glad to be over that. When I watch those TV shows about hoarders and hoarding, my battle against over-consumption and against stuff is simply and terrifyingly reinforced. There's a not-so-fine-line between "collecting" and "hoarding." Since I come from a long line of "collectors" and am inclined in that direction myself, I work hard to keep up my self-awareness in that direction.

While moving from our old house to this new one, I de-acquisitioned a lot of stuff. And I continue to do that. Stuff comes in?? Stuff must go out. In the last 2 weeks, while getting my studio organized (or at least better organized), I offed plenty of purse-type ephemera. I'm not about to go hunting for more. And what's so interesting about old Costco receipts and used kleenex anyway? Which is what my purse ephemera usually is.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do have some boxes of ephemera here in my studio, all nicely and just recently edited and organized. This is the good stuff, the "junk" that isn't junk and the "junk" worth saving. So, again, I quote: "Think of these collections as forgotten fragments of your life that can be reassembled, reorganized, or reused as art, as inspiration for new projects, or as craft materials." And I'm sure I will collect more of this kind of ephemera in the future, for just this sort of use.

My point is that there is a fine line between useless junk and garbage, and ephemera that truly has some potential. There is a fine line between collecting and hoarding. Your purse may be a better collector of swell stuff that mine is. But I can guarantee you that my suitcases are totally empty when not in use, my glove compartment is tidy, and my "junk drawer" is actually more of a "miscellaneous" drawer and I intend to keep it that way.